The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most active teams during this free agency period. In the time of two days, the Lakers have signed such names as Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, Carmelo Anthony, Kendrick Nunn, and Malik Monk. They have completely restructured their entire team, with only LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, and Talen Horton-Tucker as stars who played for the team last season. The Lakers also acquired superstar point guard Russell Westbrook, which is why they have looked at veterans who are willing to take the minimum deal from the Lakers.
NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski weighed in on the Lakers’ making these moves during the offseason so far. He discussed the Lakers bringing back former stars like Howard, Ariza, and Ellington on minimum deals. But the thing that caught Woj’s attention is the signing of Carmelo Anthony. He spoke about the close bond that Anthony and LeBron James share, and their previous desire to team up with each other. Now that this has finally happened, Woj is excited to see how the Lakers perform next season.
“Free agency moves fast. Players are coming off the board, you’ve got to be aggressive in there and find the right pieces. And LA, certainly a lot of players in this group who have been in LA before. Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard. But then Carmelo Anthony, obviously a lot of history with LeBron James. They go back to their teenage years at the old ABCD All-American camp, they certainly played together on Team USA. They tried to get together at two different points in their career, but never quite worked out. It does now and Carmelo Anthony comes to a Lakers team that is going to need its shooting and a four-man on their roster like he is. So he has become one of the better catch and shoot three-point shooters in his later years, this is a top-10 all-time scorer, and this is really unique group with tremendous star power…This is going to be an interesting ride with them next season.”
The Lakers have made several moves in the offseason so far. And right now, there is a lot of excitement and a lot of skepticism surrounding the team. Optimistic fans believe that the Lakers have the right blend of superstars and role players going forward. But the skeptics have noted that the Lakers have an aging roster with players who could be considered wild-cards next season. Regardless, Woj is right when he says the Lakers will be fun to watch next season.
